Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Do You Love Life

In our Western culture you frequently hear people talk about living the “good life.” If you were to ask these people to define their idea of this life, you’d hear a multitude of answers. Most of them would involve the indulgence of a particular appetite or taste for pleasure. Years ago this was summed up with a bumper sticker on an expensive motor home or other recreational vehicle, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Sadly, many people define the “good life” in terms of a toy, not in terms of a godly lifestyle.
Note what the Lord has to say about the "Good Life." "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." (I Peter 3:10). Peter is saying whoever "Wishes to love" life, present and eternal will not involve himself in those things that make this life a burden.
He goes on to tell us that we must curb, or cause to cease, using our tongues for evil and deceitful purposes. He is implying that our natural inclination is to speak evil. The Holy Spirit promises a blessed life to those who show patience toward those who are evil. That is why we are to love and pray for our enemies. This takes the wisdom of God being operative in our lives.
James 3:17 says "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." A growing Christian will show this kind of fruit in their lives for they depend on God for everything. Depending on God will deliver you from evil for the Lord will be attentive to your prayers. Living the life of Christ is dependent on staying connected to Christ. He is the Vine, we are the branches. Our very life comes from Him. We live the life of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We learn the wisdom of God as we saturate our heart and minds with the Scriptures. Part of loving life is walking out of the way to avoid evil. We will not experience the good life by walking blindly into evil, and then pretending we could do nothing to avoid it. We are to discern the difference between good and evil and take specific steps to avoid evil. The other side of this coin appears when we purposefully determine to do good. There is no need to fret about what is good and what is not. God doesn't leave us to on our own to figure it out. This is one reason He gave us the Bible. That is why we read the Scriptures as God's relevant message to us.
Loving life and seeing good days has a lot to do with the use of our tongues. The Bible tells us "Out of the heart the mouth speaks." Our heart feeds our tongue. How is your heart doing? Are you feeding from the Word of God? If you wish to love life, the Lord through the Scriptures will show you the way. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.